A White Storm
by Snowsound
Summary: When a certain man walked inside the bookshop and eventually back into his life, a long, forgotten memory flashed before Severus Snape's mind. It was as if a storm appeared before him, and the only way to get out of its way is to never look back.


A White Storm

**_December 15th, 1992_**

He stepped into the perimeter of the bookshop — his black robes billowing behind him, and a dust of snow lightly covered his greasy black hair and broad shoulders. The sound of the bell ringing, when the door opened, grabbed the attention of the owner of the shop; he was, at the moment, busy stashing away some of the extra books that had just arrived. The aging man stood up straight and looked to see who it was. He merely smiled as one of his regular customers came in. "Severus. Nice to see you here."

The thin man with sallow skin and a large, hooked nose — now revealed to be Severus Snape — carefully dusted off the wet snow, and slowly closed the door to prevent any more of the white precipitate from coming in. The December breeze made the professor shiver slightly, but the cold weather did not prevent him from visiting such a place. His dark eyes scanned all over Flourish and Blotts until his attention is now directly at the aging man in front of him. "Mr. Abbott."

"What can I do for you, professor?"

"Has the book I have requested arrived yet?" Snape inquired, his deep voice resonating.

The owner frowned, and shook his head in disappointment. "I'm afraid not." He glanced to his side to look outside. "Because of this weather these past couple of weeks, the package won't probably arrive until a month or so."

Snape nodded in understanding, "I see." Deep inside him, he was growing impatient. He requested for the book a few months ago, and yet it has not arrived. Whatever these dunderheads are doing, they better hurry it up with his order.

Being a regular customer allowed Mr. Abbott to carefully observe his client. Although Snape appeared to be alright with the news he had given, the aging man can tell that the professor is frustrated. Mr. Abbott was rather curious as to why Severus requested for a particular book that only muggles read, but he kept it well-hidden in his being.

"If you like, feel free to have a look around. I'll give you a discount on any book that you may find interesting here," Mr. Abbott proposed to ease the potions master. "I'll send you an owl once your requested book is finally here."

Snape stood up straight at his proposition. "Very well."

Mr. Abbott watched the tall man turn around and walk up the staircase until he disappeared from his view. The owner let out a sigh, and returned back to his previous task. This will be a long day indeed.

* * *

A book managed to capture Snape's eyes. His fingertips touched the binding of the book, and slowly retracted it from the bookcase; _The History of Ghouls in Japan_, it reads. Snape quirked an eyebrow at the title, and observed that the length of the book itself is neither long, nor short. His dark eyes skimmed through the pages, and was satisfied with it.

In truth be told, a memory appeared in his mind when he saw the title; a memory he longed thought forgotten. It was him, Lily, and their other friend — he can't remember his name — discussing the very nature of these creatures. It was _their _friend who told them about these beings, and what is interesting about it is that these ghouls looked like ordinary humans — so very different from the ones he learned from ghoul studies in his third year back in Hogwarts.

Severus sadly smiled at the memory, and drew the novel beneath his arm. He proceeded to look for more that can grab his attention, but none of them seemed to hold any interest. The sound of the bell ringing, however, piqued his awareness as to see who arrived at this time of the hour.

"My, oh my," he hears Mr. Abbott's voice, "—Well if it isn't Kishou Arima. What a pleasant surprise!"

The head of the professor quickly turned at the owner's voice. He recognized that name. It was that foreigner whom he and Lily had met when they first got on the train on the way to Hogwarts. It was that boy who got sorted into Ravenclaw because he was revealed to be a prodigy. It was that person who told them all about these humanoid creatures. The most surprising of them all, he was their friend.

"It's nice seeing you again, Mr. Abbott," the other voice greeted with sincerity and a hint of aloofness. "I must say, this place hasn't changed one bit."

Snape heard the old man laugh at Arima's response. "Well, I wanted to keep this place as it is so students won't have a hard time looking for the books they need."

Arima chuckled at this. "If I recall, you said the very same thing to me when I first entered your shop."

"Ha, I'm surprised you remember."

Severus slowly approached the balcony and tried not to reveal himself. In fact, he stood off a few inches away from the railing, but his eyes were able to see the two people below through the slitted openings of the metal balcony. Behind the wooden counter, he could see Mr. Abbott. The man standing in front of the aging man has his side-profile being observed by Snape himself. The professor was astounded as to how much Kishou had changed throughout these years.

When was the last time he saw him? From what he remembered, it was after his big feud with Lily that Kishou left Hogwarts during their fifth year. Their friend was rather distraught as to what had happened between him and Lily, but the would-be investigator was more deeply distressed when he informed them that he will not resume his magical studies. Snape remembered asking him, "_why?_" Arima did not answer him, but his empty blue-gray eyes are trying to convey something…

The potions master shook his head from the memory and turned his attention back to his old friend. Arima changed in terms of his appearance; he could see that Arima now has snow-white hair, and is the same height as him. He still dons a pair of glasses, and unlike Snape, he is dressed with a simple white long coat. The white-haired man seemed to be much paler than before as if something terrible happened to him.

"If you don't mind me asking…" the owner began, " — what made you come back here in Europe after what? A decade? I know you told me, before you left, that you had to go back to your home country for some personal matters, but seeing you here now piqued my curiosity."

Severus sees his friend give the old man a small smile. "I have business to attend to," he says, but he became quiet as if contemplating his next words. "_Muggle _business for my father. I also have to clear out my former home and sell it since I rarely use it." Arima dusted some of the remaining snow off of his shoulder. "Other than that, I plan to visit Hogwarts."

Mr. Abbott nodded, satisfied with the answer Arima gave him. "I see. I do hope everything is well in order with your…_business_." The old man clasped his calloused hands together. "Anyhow, how can I help you today?"

"Ah, yes." Arima brought out a small parcel from his coat and handed it to Mr. Abbott. "I would like to sell this for five galleons. Hopefully, it would be useful for Muggle Studies."

From above, Snape could see Mr. Abbott unwrap the parcel. The shop owner was caught in surprise at the sight of it. Although the professor can make out the scene before him, he didn't quite catch the cover of the book — let alone the title itself.

"Oh, Kishou," Mr. Abbott observed the book. "You have no idea how much I've been waiting for this novel. Well, _actually_, someone has been waiting for this." He turned back to look at Arima. "You've done me good service, my dear boy."

"Consider it as a gift, Mr. Abbott," the white-haired man replied softly. "I just hope this person will find it useful, or at least…_entertaining_ when they read it."

Mr. Abbott smirked and gave Arima his payment. "Here you go. Five galleons it is. You know, I still wonder how you muggleborns understand these kinds of literature." He put up a hand as a sign of respect. "No offense by the way."

Kishou just shrugged at the older man's intrigue. "None taken." His eyes were now directed toward the tome. "If you put it into perspective, some of them give us hope considering the message behind it, while some of them take a form of relief."

"Hmm…" Mr. Abbott hummed in agreement as he rubbed his chin. "That's a good way to put it. But, then again, I'm no expert in muggle literature. I do appreciate your help though."

"Not at all, Mr. Abbott," Arima said while glancing at the window. "Anyhow, I must take my leave before the weather gets worse."

The owner made a "tch" sound as he saw the weather condition outside. "You're right. You should leave immediately before you get stuck here." He looked at the white-haired man once more. "Well, Kishou, it's nice seeing you again after all these years. Do enjoy the rest of your holidays."

Arima smiled and shook the older man's hand. "Likewise, Mr. Abbott. You as well."

And with that, Snape watched his friend leave the book shop; the whole place succumbing to silence once more. With the book he found interesting tucked beneath his arm, the Death Eater made his way down the staircase and approach the counter where Mr. Abbott resumed his task at hand.

The old man heard Snape's heavy footfalls, and immediately spun around to face his client with a grin. "Severus, I have good news," he says.

The professor quirked a brow as he came to a halt in front of him. "What is it?"

"I don't know if you heard, or saw," Mr. Abbott carefully placed out the brown parcel on top of the counter. " — but a young man I once knew came in here to sell his book, and it just so happened to be the book you've requested."

"Really?"

"Yes," Mr. Abbott said as he opened the wrapping. "I believe this is the _one_, right?"

The potion master nodded. Before him, lay the novel, _The Complete Stories _by Franz Kafka; the book his friend always reads whenever him, Lily and Kishou are together. Another memory passed through his mind as he remembers a young Arima sitting beside him and Lily underneath their favorite tree, reading his book with content. "This is the one," said Snape.

"Splendid!" Mr. Abbott happily said. "Now, if you would please hand me the book you're willing to purchase, I would gladly wrap it along with this book."

Snape gave him the tome, and watched the aging man carefully enclosed both books with brown wrapping. Curiosity creeped deep within him as to how Mr. Abbott knew his friend. "Mr. Abbott," he began.

"Hrmm?" The owner shifted his eyes at Snape while wrapping the two tomes.

"Who was that man you were talking to?"

"Ah," Mr. Abbott pursed his lips as he expected the question, " — that was Kishou Arima. A bright young man who regularly comes by before leaving for Japan over the summer." He looked at Severus at the eye and quickly added, "That was back then when he was a student, of course."

Severus slowly nodded. There were times when Kishou was unable to join him and Lily in their little study sessions during their summer vacation, but now, he learns his friend frequently visited Flourish and Blotts in hopes of finding a new book to read.

There was a light twinkle in Mr. Abbott's blue eyes as he noticed the professor's face. "You knew him too didn't you?"

Snape flinched slightly at the sudden question, but he ultimately relented, "Yes."

Mr. Abbott smiled as he finished wrapping up the package. He handed the parcel to the professor, and Snape paid the bookshop owner with the money he had acquired from Gringotts. They bid each other farewell, and Snape watched the snow fall as he stepped outside of the bookshop. The harsh winds finally ceased and tiny white specks slowly descended from the grey sky.

The potions master looked to his left and noticed that the footprints — which he assumed to be Arima's — are almost completely covered. He was tempted to go in that direction, but he decided against it as it will only bring back painful memories of the broken bond between the three of them. It's better to not approach the white storm, let alone, be engulfed by it.

* * *

_A/N: This has been sitting in my laptop for a couple of months now. Originally, I thought of writing a multi-chapter of an AU where Arima was a former student at Hogwarts and he's friends with Lily and Snape, but I decided not to do that...yet, since my first work is still in progress. This one shot alone was originally part in a supposed multi-chapter story where Arima returns to Hogwarts to explain why he left so suddenly in their fifth year. However, I feel like, to me at least, one shots are better suited for me to carefully tell a story that emanates a sense of drama. This is because my mind and imagination work intricately to portray characters and the situations that they are in. _

_Anyway, I do hope you like this one shot and I hope to continue writing short stories like this. _


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